When I think of Nepal I immediately picture Mount Everest, and further thought I see a group of people sitting around a campfire eating roasted Yak! Well, I have never been there so what do you expect!
Along with a couple of fellow bloggers,
Nayna and
Fiona, I was asked to review
Khushi, a Nepalese restaurant in West London and not sure what to expect wouldn't have been surprised to find curried yak on the menu! What a pleasant surprise we had in store for us.
The restaurant was empty when we arrived, quite early for a Friday night really but was heaving when we left - a good sign. The staff welcomed everyone with the same enthusiasm and warm invite to enter and share the food they are so passionate about. The décor was simple and modest with some impressive features on the wall - like this friendly elephant!
The menu had names that I was familiar with from Indian restaurants like Balti, Biryiani, Tandoori and it would have been easy to try what I knew however never having had Nepalese cuisine before I decided to step outside my culinary comfort zone and 'go native'!
There are fish dishes - Malekhu Macha and Tareko Macha and they have House Specialities with intriguing names such as Gurkha, Farsi Tarkari, Nepalese Chicken Choyela and Lancy Masala - all inviting me back to try them on another occasion! If you want more detail of the menu you can always find more info
here.
With our poppadoms we had our mango chutney, raita (cucumber and yoghurt) and chopped onion salad served in the nicest little copper and brass dish which we all wanted to take home!
We started with Momo, little steamed dumplings filled with either chicken, lamb or vegetables. The three of us chose a different filling and Fiona swopped a couple of her lamb momo for my chicken ones.
Each filling was slightly differently shaped, making identification a tad easier!
Fiona ordered the Newari Bhway A Typical Newari Feast with spicy Soya Bean, Beaten Rice, Vegetables, Moola/Aloo Achar & Chhoyela served on a dried leaves plate.
I had the Nepali Platter (Daal, Bhat & Tarkari) with chicken - A set meal of typical Nepali platter consisting of rice, daal, chicken/lamb/veg curry & an extra vegetable. Nayna opted for the vegetable version of the platter.
We also had Naan bread and stuffed parotha (with potato and herbs) as well as govi bhajee (cauliflower) and mushroom bhajee.
I wasn't able to finish my meal as it was quite substantial and was asked if I wanted to take the rest home. Of course I wanted to and was happy to walk out with my carrier bag of new and exciting food. We would also have loved to take a bag out with some of the beautiful plates and serving dishes that we were told came from Nepal especially for the restaurant!
Many thanks to Khushi for the invitation - Dhanya-Baad (Thank You). The restaurant is really easy to access from the Picadilly Line - just a minute or two walk from Boston Manor underground station. Khushi is open late each evening until 23:00 however Friday and Saturday nights until 24:00.
I was a guest of Khushi and invited by Emerz Marketing to review the meal. I was not expected to write a positive review. All photos and opinions are my own.
